Introducing Blacktail Solar Homes
A typical Blacktail Solar Home
Construction of Rife Street was part of Phase III. Rife Street construction is complete except for paving. The ten Phase III homes have been renting since autumn of 2022.
The Homes - Phase III -- NOW RENTING
Phase IV is a new subdivision named Blacktail Solar Homes Subdivision. It is located on the northwest side of Rife Street. The plan is to build two or three of these homes in 2025, and possibly have them ready for sale by July.
The Homes - Phase IV
For sales information see
Venture West Realty **
Phase I, II, and III Homes are complete.
Solar tax benefits to buyer
** Realtor who brings a buyer is eligible for 2.25% commission
Why these homes are a great value
- Wide side faces south for occupant comfort
- Installed solar PV to keep electric costs down
- Web accessible whole house solar monitoring to keep track of your electric assets
- Sod lawn is in
- Easy walk to Safeway
- Clean efficient all electric heat
- Windows - South: allow heat in, West: keep heat out
- South window solar heat collectors
- Windows open to allow natural cooling
- Double sheet rock ceilings to smooth heating and cooling cycle
- Insulation: Ceiling = R50, Walls = R25
- Climate controlled crawl spaces to conserve heat
- Quality counter tops
- Cabinets: dovetail joints, soft close drawers
- All chrome faucets on sinks and showers
- Double door refrigerators with water and ice maker
- Electric flat top stove/oven
- Builtin microwave over stove
- Dish washer
- Garbage disposal in sink
- Wash machine and dryer hookups
- Waterproof vinyl plank flooring in living areas
- Shaw carpet and pads in bedrooms
- All dimmable LED lighting
- Sherwin Williams semi-gloss paint
- Dark stained pine doors and trim
Use Contact Form above for more information
The completed homes as listed for sale.
An aerial rendering from the SouthEast of the first three homes. These homes are complete and ready for occupancy.
Blacktail Solar Homes are located in Dillon, Montana.
Solar Homes
Blacktail Solar Homes have many elements that together will make them economical to operate and comfortable to live in for many years into the future. You will find most of these elements described in the links in the left sidebar. The most important element, Solar Orientation, is described as follows:
We all know that the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West. And most of us know that the warmest place to be out of doors on a cold winter day is on the south side of a building. What is not so obvious is why that south side is so warm; we found a nice diagram that shows the relative path of the Earth around the Sun during the year that explains it very nicely..
To put it simply, solar home design is based around the idea of maximizing solar heat gain when and where it’s useful (so as to offset heating requirements) and minimizing it when and where it’s a liability (so as to offset cooling requirements). This is known as passive solar design because no mechanical devices may be needed for heating and cooling, depending of course on where the home is located.
